Tag: Fantasy

Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab – #BookReview

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Goodreads: Vicious (Villains #1)
Genre: Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, SFF
Reviewed: January 2019
Panda Rating:

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates–brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find–aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge–but who will be left alive at the end?
In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question.

“The paper called Eli a hero.
The word made Victor laugh. Not just because it was absurd, but because it posed a question. If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?”

This is a story about superheroes and supervillains and ExtraOrdinary people. It’s about right vs wrong, morality, jealousy, revenge and friendship. It explores a complex relationship between two college best friends turned archenemies, and the reasons and consequences of their fall out. Schwab does a magnificent job writing the fantastical into the ordinary, that although you know the concept is a little outlandish, you wonder if maybe it’s really possible. With an immersive style of writing that encourages you to devour as much as quickly as possible, it isn’t surprising that I was hooked right from the start!

Victor and Eli were college roommates and best friends until their senior year of college when everything came crashing down. After a shared interest in adrenaline, near death experiences and an exploration of seemingly extraordinary abilities moves from theoretical to experimental, things go horribly wrong incredibly fast and these two become each other’s worst enemy. When Victor gets thrown in jail because of Eli, he swears that he will get his vengeance and so the battle between our two villains begins.

“But these words that people threw around— humans, monsters, heroes, villains—to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”

What can I say about this book? I loved pretty much everything about it. The characters, the storyline, all of it! It pulls you in and makes you think about perceptions – for example, what makes someone a hero or a villain? In the movies it’s usually pretty cut and dry, but even villains have a reason why they end up being so evil, right? You could see from the start that Victor and Eli have such a complex friendship. It’s one filled with admiration but also jealousy, envy, and greed. Make no mistake—both Eli and Victor are “bad nuts” in the traditional sense of the word and as Schwab writes it, they have something dark lurking beneath their skin—but in this story, it works. It’s funny how I didn’t think I’d ever have a favorite supervillain but if there were teams, I think I’d definitely be team Victor. His rag-tag crew of misfits grew on me—especially Mitch and his story and of course, sweet little Sydney and Dol!

I loved that all the characters in this book had complex backgrounds to their stories and that we got to learn about them all as we moved back-and-forth from past to present. Schwab did a great job with that as well, with smooth transitions and always spot on with the answers to your burning questions from the previous scene(s).

Have you read Vicious? Are you a fan of Schwab?
Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

#TopTenTuesday: Books on my Autumn Possibility Pile!

Dini @ dinipandareads73 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: books on my Autumn Possibility Pile! I recently did a similar-ish post for my Friday Favorites, where I listed some TBR reads that suited the Autumn mood! As you’ll know by now, I’m a mood reader so I’m not much for TBRs or seasonal reading. That said, I usually do like to think about books I wanna read over the course of a month if the mood strikes, and I like to think of it as my ‘possibility pile‘! I think of Autumn as going from September – November but I could also be completely wrong as I’ve lived in the tropics basically my whole life (and Australia saw six years of opposite seasons, plus I experienced two extremely warm fall seasons living in the UK so ‘autumn’ only showed towards mid-November/early Dec). A lot of what I’m thinking to read leans to the darker/spookier reads (for me anyway!), sprinkled with some lighter contemporaries and SFF!

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones. Even though I’m the biggest chicken and really can’t handle much ghosty-paranormal shtuff, I went out and immediately pre-ordered the book after reading Kibby’s review. It’s outside of my norm but it sounds so good and perfect for October!

Darkdawn (The Nevernight Chronicle #3) by Jay Kristoff. I’m not ready for this series to end but I also don’t think that I can put it off for longer. Kristoff’s going to crush my soul either way, so I might as well get the #stabstabstab over with, right?! This series full of darkness, blood and gore has really grown on me and I’m TERRIFIED for how this’ll end. I actually haven’t seen any reviews yet 🤔

Serpent & Dove (Serpent & Dove #1) by Shelby Mahurin. I’ve really only heard amazing things about this book and it honestly sounds really good. Also, apparently there’s no cliffhanger?! I’m definitely looking forward to reading this and not putting it off forever 🙂

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig. This book has received so much love, even by readers who don’t normally read YA or gothic tales, which makes me all the more excited to read it!

Skyward (Skyward #1) by Brandon Sanderson. The second book in this series comes out on 26 November, and I’ve been telling myself that I haven’t been neglecting this book on my shelf, I’ve just been waiting for the perfect moment to read it 😜 The time has come!

Wicked Saints (Something Dark & Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan. This was one of the more hyped YA releases earlier this year and I’ve heard so many mixed reviews for it. I’m getting the impression that you either loved/hated it, with little in between. I just got approved for the e-ARC of Ruthless Gods last week though, so I’m VERY EXCITED for this perfectly dark, possibly wicked, Autumn read!

The Toll (Arc of a Scythe #3) by Neal Shusterman. This has already appeared in several of my posts recently but honestly, I can’t wait. I’m SO READY to see what happens next and to see how this fantastic dystopian series will end!

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. The colors of this cover match perfectly with the season! But in between all of these darker reads I know I’ll need something lighter to make me a little less melancholy. I think this book will give me the warm fuzzies, and I love books with cooking/food!

Twice in A Blue Moon by Christina Lauren. I am so excited for this book which releases 22 October. I still haven’t read a few of the CLo books on my shelf *cough* but this one sounds mega sweet!

Malamander by Thomas Taylor. I don’t often read MG but the cover on this one had me picking it up almost immediately 😬 I’ve heard some really great things about it too so I’m keen!

What’s on your Autumn Possibility Pile/TBR?
If you’ve done a TTT for today, please leave your links in the comments so I can mosey over to your blog and check it out! 🙂

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) by Jay Kristoff – #BookReview

Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

Goodreads: Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:

Conquer your fear, conquer the world.
Mia Corvere, destroyer of empires, has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry do not believe she has earned it. Her position is precarious, and she’s still no closer to exacting revenge for the brutal death of her family. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.
When it is announced that Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself into slavery for a chance to fulfill the promise she made on the day she lost everything. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold, secrets are revealed and the body count rises within the collegium walls, Mia will be forced to choose between her loyalties and her revenge.

CW: Gore, Murder, Abuse (Physical)

When I started Godsgrave two days ago, the first thing I told myself was: DO NOT GET ATTACHED. I mean, this was my mantra and I was ready. Kristoff could bring all the emotional fckery to the table and hit me with it because I WAS NOT GOING TO GET ATTACHED. He can absolutely take his torture elsewhere! I see you, Kristoff. I know better after Nevernight!

O, gentlefriends the lies we tell ourselves, neh?

it me

If I wasn’t 100% convinced after Nevernight that Kristoff takes absolute pleasure in making his readers writhe in agony as he slays off one character after another, it’s safe to say that I don’t need convincing now because I have zero doubts about it. Kristoff is eerily like George R.R. Martin. If you like a character in this book, chances are they’re going to get fcked over at some point, and hard! And yet, I still can’t get enough of this series (and what does that say about me exactly?). When I wrote this review my thoughts and emotions were still all over the place, so fair warning, this review might be as much a hot hot mess.

Audiobook

I followed along to the audiobook again because it played such a big part in my enjoyment of the story of Nevernight. The audio started off a bit shaky and I felt it wasn’t as strong as Nevernight, but I still enjoyed the narrator, Holter Graham, and thought he did a great job with voicing the cast. I did notice there were a lot of errors in wording and sometimes voicing but it wasn’t a very big deal. I’d give this performance 4★s!

The Writing

Kristoff’s writing has really grown on me a lot since Nevernight. I enjoy the OTT metaphors and similes, as well as the dry and often crass humor that’s interjected and brings much needed levity to such a dark story. I found that I still loved the footnotes because you learn so much about the republic through them, and I find that the text is often hilarious. If there’s one thing I’m dying to know is who the narrator is! Does anyone have any guesses?

“If Vengeance has a mother, her name is Patience.”

The Plot

Godsgrave moved at a fast pace that didn’t let up until the end. The world building continued to be fantastic, and I especially enjoyed the horrific and jaw dropping arenas where the gladiatii battled. These arenas were mind-blowing and like an insanely “pimped up” and magical Gladiator. Unsurprisingly, there’s even more blood and gore as Mia joins a collegium of gladiatii as part of her plan to avenge her familia. There are also a few well-written sexy scenes! The plot gets more complex as conspiracies and ugly truths come to light. There are plenty of twists, revelations, lies and heartbreak, but also some great, heartwarming friendships too. There’s a romance storyline that I didn’t love but I’m sure many will enjoy–I just don’t trust the character at all! Some of the revelations I saw coming but the very last one had me shook. I was definitely over here screaming like a banshee as I read it! I’m STILL shaking and hella curious to see how these elements will come together in Darkdawn. There’s so much anticipation!

The Characters

There’s a completely new cast that appear in Godsgrave. Few characters from the first book reappear, but they don’t play big roles in the story, except for one/two.

Mia Corvere continues to be an incredibly complex character. She has become an even more proficient killer and although her lack of fear has made her a bit colder, she still retains her conscience; I love those two sides to her character. Towards the end of the book, I ended up shouting at and hating her for what she was doing, but I should’ve known better. Tricksy little Kristoff! We get to see a bit more of Mercurio in Godsgrave, and I really love his paternal relationship with Mia. I love a gruff character with heart!

“When you take a person out of the world, you don’t just take them, do you? You take everything they were, too.”

We’re introduced to many characters in Godsgrave, especially when Mia joins the collegium. We have Leona, the Domina of the collegium. Arkades, a former gladiatii and now Executus of the collegium. Maggot, the young girl who was the collegium’s healer, absolutely stole my heart with her sweetness and curiosity! Then there are the other gladiatii and although most of them remain minor characters, I couldn’t help loving what I learned of Sidonius, Bryn and Byern, Bladesinger, and Wavebreaker! I thought for sure there would be one asshole that makes life at the collegium unbearable for Mia, but for the most part they treated each other like family. I loved the camaraderie between them, and the banter like that between siblings. I wanted to spend more time with them and learn more of their interesting backstories. This is obviously where I also got attached to characters that I should not have done and the big event at the end seriously broke my heart. I was railing so hard at both Kristoff and Mia!

AND THEN OF COURSE

There’s the big twist and reveal of characters and their relationships in the last few pages of the book! WHAAAT?! Kristoff is so cruel to end this on such a note, but I’m so glad that I decided to start this series when Darkdawn came out because now I don’t have to wait years to know what happens. I’m honestly a little scared but also very excited to see how this story wraps up. There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be terrifying, horrifying and heartbreaking. Will I be ready for the feels?!

Have you read Godsgrave? What’d you think of it? Also, have you read Darkdawn? Are my feelings going to be absolutely destroyed?!
Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan – #BookReview

Dini @ dinipandareads17 Comments

Goodreads: The Astonishing Color of After
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Panda Rating:

Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life. Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.

“Depression, I opened my mouth to say, but the word refused to take shape. Why was it so hard to talk about this? Why did my mother’s condition feel like this big secret?”

The Astonishing Color of After is a heart-wrenching story of a teenager trying to come to terms with her mother’s suicide and simultaneously exploring a side of her heritage that she never knew before. This isn’t a fast-paced or action-packed read. While filled with beautiful and poetic prose and rich emotions that are captured through the full spectrum of colors, the pace is rather slow. It’s the kind of story that requires savoring because there’s a lot going on. If I think about the range of emotions that I encountered, off the top of my head, I’d say: grief, anger, sadness, desperation, longing, love, regret, and happiness. And it’s not just tiny bursts of these emotions either, but waves of them pulling you in and up and down… Like I said, there’s a lot going on in this story.

We follow Leigh Sanders. Teenager. Chinese-Irish-American. Gifted young artist. Also, someone who experiences the world in color. Literally. They call it Synesthesia. As a result, this book is so rich with it – swirls and whirls of color to describe emotions, events, characters. Then when she loses her mother, Leigh is mired in such deep grief that she sees things in black and white, when one night her mother comes to her as a bright-red beautiful bird. Desperate to understand why her mother was so unhappy, Leigh embarks on a journey which takes her to Taiwan, where she meets her Chinese grandparents for the first time.

I never was big on magical realism but I thought how Pan incorporates elements of it into her story was very fitting. I feel like magical realism plays a big role in a lot of Asian cultures; we have a lot of stories with ghosts, spirits and unlikely magical events that happen in many Asian cultures. I feel that the magical events in this story further highlighted just how affected Leigh was by her mother’s suicide. AsLeigh recalls more memories and events become increasingly bizarre, her desperation to understand the why and how becomes more palpable.

“Here is my mother, with wings instead of hands, and feathers instead of hair. Here is my mother, the reddest of brilliant reds, the color of my love and my fear, all of my fiercest feelings trailing after her in the sky like the tail of a comet.“

I have to be honest–there were moments when this book became too overwhelming for me. Not only because there’s so much going on in the story, but at the heart of it is a profound exploration of depression. I never really understood it when people said they read something and felt triggered, but I finally understood when I read this book. Pan does such a raw portrayal of depression; it’s just very honest and upfront. There’s no ‘explanation’ to depression; it wears many faces and seemingly comes and goes as it pleases. As someone who suffers from depression, reading about how Dory’s life was basically eclipsed by it, was quite terrifying in how relatable it was. So, I definitely had to take breaks between reading and I pushed myself to finish this, but this story was so worth it.

“Once upon a time we were the standard colors of a rainbow, cheery and certain of ourselves. At some point, we all began to stumble into the in-betweens, the murky colors made dark and complicated by resentment and quiet anger.”

This story takes us on a journey of discovery through dealing with depression, grief, love, family and friendship. I was feeling all the feels and crying buckets by the end of this book. Because of its subject matter, this book is undoubtedly one my reads that hit home the hardest. It’s not an easy topic to discuss and it’s definitely not an easy topic to read, but Pan does a truly incredible job of it.

Pan also does an amazing job in capturing the tumultuous thoughts, emotions, hopes and fears of a teenager who goes through an achingly big loss. In her search for answers, Leigh’s character also experienced a rich self-discovery of her Chinese roots and a deep understanding of family and friendship. We are with Leigh as she processes her grief, her confusion, her anger and frustration, and we are also with her as she finally gets her closure and finds peace with the loss of her mother. This is a highly recommended read.

Have you read The Astonishing Color of After? What’d you think of it? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

Book Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Dini @ dinipandareads20 Comments

Goodreads: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:

Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death. Six years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping the promise she made on the day that she lost everything. But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and demons at the heart of a murder cult. The Red Church is no Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student. The shadows love her. And they drink her fear.

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The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black – #BookReview

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

Goodreads: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

I read this book for the first time last year and I remember reaching the end and thinking HOLY HELL WTF JUST HAPPENED. Then I realized I had to wait a year to get The Wicked King. Fast forward to now, over a year later, I’ve got TWK in my hands but I haven’t read it yet because I wanted to do a re-read of The Cruel Prince first. In all honesty, I didn’t remember much about the characters or what happened in the story since a year passed. Having finished my second read, my rating is around 3.5-4 stars.

TCP was a fast, engaging read and I found myself flipping through the chapters in record time. I loved the faerie world depicted by Black. It’s full of dark, twisted and evil creatures and it’s almost completely unforgiving, especially if you’re a human. There are so many magical and astonishing creatures that my mind was scrambling to imagine, and THE FOOD! The way that Black describes the food in faerie was mouth-watering. I don’t know how any human could resist it because I would’ve been all over that faster than you can say stop! I really enjoyed the world building, and the thought of a magical world of faerie existing just beyond our sky’s edge and just out of our reach, is always an exciting thought for the kid and fantasy lover in me.

The story was told through Jude’s perspective and I can’t quite make up my mind on how I feel about her. I don’t like her much but I also don’t hate her? She’s selfish and destructive, often makes really questionable decisions, but at the same time… I can’t fault her for being the way she is for having grown up in a world like faerie. She’s consumed by fear 100% of the time, but she turns that fear into something more and it’s really admirable because she’s doing what she needs to survive. She’s gone through some hella traumatic shit, including having to live with her parent’s murderer, and she grows to love him despite what he’s done and despite his violent and calculating nature. If all of that doesn’t mess a person up, I don’t know what will. I grew to like her more in the second-half of the book though. Her ruthlessness and her very twisted relationship with Cardan was a delight to watch play out. Cardan started out as the typical bully and asshole of a prince, who was especially cruel (hence, Cruel Prince) to everyone who displeased him. But as we learn more about his character, we see there’s a lot more than meets the eye, and I did feel for his character (although that doesn’t justify his cruel bullying actions).

The majority of the characters in TCP were (very) morally grey and I think that’s what made the book all the more exciting. Faerie land is nothing like a fairy tale. Everyone is cunning, looking out for themselves, weaving magic with words to avoid telling the truth without outright lying. I was surprised by how political the story was. There’s a lot of royal faerie family drama, including a slew of deaths that reminds me very much of the infamous Red Wedding scene from GoT. It kept me on my toes though! The moral greyness of the characters only proved itself as the second-half of the book progressed and that sneaky ending was just perfection! Oh, I remember how shook I was when reading it the first time. SO SNEAKY!

I enjoyed TCP but it wasn’t my favorite fantasy or the best I’ve ever read. I’m glad that I read it the first time without the hype because if this was my first read of it, I would’ve been pretty disappointed considering how big of a deal it is. That said, I’m really looking forward to finally starting The Wicked King and to see what happens next in this cutthroat fairy world.

Have you read The Cruel Prince? What’d you think of it? Live up to the hype or nah? Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!

Top 5 Saturday: Dragons!

Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books about dragons. As I was thinking about preparing this post, I realized that while I love a good book about dragons and with dragons in it, I can’t actually recall reading many of them? That’s crazy right? I officially cannot call myself a sucker for dragons coz I’d flatout be lying. Yikes! I’m counting on you good bookish friends to do me a favor and after you read this post, give me all the good recs for dragon books, please! 🐉

The Written (Emaneska #1) by Ben Galley
I think this was the first fantasy that I read in 2019 for the The Write Reads’ Ultimate Blog Tour for Ben Galley. The Written had awesome dragons (and dragon riders!) in the story. I love dragons are given their own thriving society and individual personalities on top of being insanely large, fierce and growly. I became very quickly attached to these dragons and can’t wait to read more about them!

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini
I think I picked up Eragon in high school and immediately fell in love with the story. I remember loving the bond between Eragon and Seraphina, but I have to admit, I don’t remember much about the story or series now (coz I’m old)… But I’d definitely like to re-read it at some point!

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin
This might be a little predictable but obviously I’m going to include ASOIAF on my list! I might be influenced by the show and how awesome the dragons were in it, but I liked their appearance(s) in the books too. I did stop reading after Book 4 though (it was just too much of the same for me)!

The Tea Dragon Festival (Tea Dragon #2) by Kate O’Neill
Well, you asked for dragons, right? And these little tea dragons are absolutely the cutest things alive! I mean, little floofy dragons that grow different types of tea on their backs!? How can you not love them? But in the Tea Dragon Festival there is also a real dragon, that can shift between being a full sized dragon and a human-dragon creature named Aedhan who is just as cute! So much warmth 🥰

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
Okay, so I might’ve mentioned multiple times how much I didn’t enjoy this book and how disappointed I was that it was incredibly different from the movie (which I watched first). But we’re not going to get into that now. Smaug was a pretty awesome dragon with all his billions of trinkets and jewels to keep him cool inside the mountain. I might not have enjoyed the story, but I can still appreciate the dragon!

What are your favorite books about dragons? GIVE ME ALL YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS in the comments below please!

Sparrowhawk #1 by Delilah S. Dawson – #ARC #GraphicNovel #Review

Dini @ dinipandareads3 Comments

Goodreads: Sparrowhawk #1
Publish date: 20 August 2019
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Genre: Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Comic
Rating:

Teen Victorian fairy fight club! As the illegitimate daughter of a Naval Captain, Artemesia has never fit in with her father’s family, nor the high class world to which they belong. However, when she is targeted by the Faerie Queen and pulled into another realm, she has no choice but to try and save the world that has always hated her. Writer Delilah S. Dawson (Hellboy: An Assortment of Horror, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny) and artist Matias Basla (The Claw and Fang) present a beautiful, gripping tale perfect for fans of Labyrinth and Princeless. 

Sparrowhawk is a fast paced, well drawn comic. The artwork is full of bold colors although the style itself is not one that I’m usually drawn to or prefer. That said, I thought it suited the strangeness of this story. I liked the artwork on the chapter/title pages more than I did the artwork throughout the comic, but I loved the contrast of the colorful against the brutal, gruesome and dark faerie world story. The plot itself reminded me of elements of Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland, which the author also mentioned as her inspiration in the afterword.

I found the story interesting. Artemesia is the daughter of a colonizer and a slave woman who grew up in a family that was cruel and didn’t want her. After being forced into a situation she doesn’t want to be in, Art finds herself being pulled into the faerie realm, having been replaced by the Faerie Queen in her world. In faerie, Art meets a demonic bunny (reminiscent of the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland) who makes a pact to help her get back home, in exchange for one of Art’s memories. Art must go through faerie slaying monstrosities in order to get back home, and along the way she encounters both the good and evil creatures of faerie, including the gentle faerie prince, whom she falls in love with. How far will she go to get back home?

Art was a strong willed character who was fiercely determined to go home. Her transformation from a thoughtful human, to a monster who enjoys killing as much as any unseelie, was disturbing. It begs the question: how far would you go to do what you think is right, even if it turns you into someone who you don’t like. The side characters were all very interesting as well and although he was an evil, twisted thing I really enjoyed the demonic bunny’s character.

I liked the sinister vibes of the ending and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next and how Art will deal with the repercussions of her actions.

Thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing the e-ARC for an honest review.
Have you read Sparrowhawk? Loved it? Hated it? Meh about it? Come let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

#TopTenTuesday: Book Characters I’d Love to Be Besties With

Dini @ dinipandareads31 Comments

It’s that time of the week again, friends! We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s prompt is: book characters I’d love to be besties with (submitted by Michelle @ Pink Polka Dot Blog). Fun! There are so many bookish characters that I’d love to be besties with, but these are the first ones that popped into my head!

Tanner Scott from Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Tanner is one of the ultimate cinnamon rolls and I think being besties with him would be so awesome. Not only is he a reader (and a writer, duh), but he’s funny, sweet and so caring.

Elisabeth, Nathaniel and Silas from Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson
I know I should probably just pick one of these characters, but honestly, they’re like the Three Musketeers and I can’t imagine being besties with one without expecting to become besties with the others too! I love these characters so much!

Hannah Martin from Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Hannah Martin is just like me in so many ways. I think we’d be able to relate on so many levels.

Jessica Pan, author of Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come
Jessica Pan is a real person but she’s featured in her memoir, which I loved, so this totally counts, right? Honestly, I’d love to be besties with Jessica Pan because not only is she absolutely hilarious but I feel like we’d get on well because we’re both (sh)introverts and going through a lot of similar things people in their early 30s go through? Lol I’m not tryna be creepy though 🙈

Hazel from Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
Hazel is hands down one of the most hilarious and unapologetic characters I’ve had the pleasure to read. She’s loud, she’s clumsy, she’s always into doing her own thing, even when everyone else thinks it’s weird, but she does it anyway. I think we’d have the best time hanging out!

Mateo Torrez from They Both Die At the End by Adam Silvera
Mateo is so freaking pure. He’s so selfless and I just want to protect him at all costs. What better way to do that than by being his bestie!?

Knightly Brothers from That Second Chance (Getting Lucky #1) by Meghan Quinn
As much as I’d love to find myself in a relationship with either one of these amazing brothers who believe in a crazy love curse, I also really love their very different personalities and their hilarious banter. Although I’d probably get teased and pranked to no end, they’d be so much fun to hang with!

Lois Clary from Sourdough by Robin Sloan
I really love how passionate Lois is about everything and I admire how she dives into even the most unprecedented things and fights her way through to the other side. She’s so full of life and energy, plus she makes a really mean sourdough! We’d have awesome adventures in San Francisco!

The Illuminae Files Gang from The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Um, do I really need to have a reason why being besties with ALL OF THEM would be so fun? I love all their personalities and I mean, tbh, if I were going to be living in space, and finding myself fighting crazy battles for survival, these are the people I’d trust to keep me safe lol

Raymond from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
I loved Raymond so much. He has the biggest heart and to be honest, he kind of reminds me of a bestie I lost several years ago to a horrible freak accident. I think being besties with Raymond would bring so much warmth and comfort into my life.

What characters would you want to be besties with? Would you wanna be friends with any of these characters? If you’ve also done a TTT for today, don’t forget to leave your links in the comment and let’s chat 🙂

Top 5 Saturday: Books about Assassins

Dini @ dinipandareads28 Comments

It’s time for another Top 5 Saturday, a weekly meme created by Mandy @ Devouring Books and this week’s topic is: books about assassins. I love a good book focused on assassins, but I realize that I’ve got more of these books on my TBR than ones I’ve actually read. I don’t know if these are the only four books that I’ve read about assassins (probably not) but they are favorites, so book five will be a bonus book that’s currently on my TBR and will hopefully no longer be on it after this month!

The Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan
I think this was one of the first adult fantasy novels that I ever picked up and it was so good! I didn’t expect to be so sucked into the world and to become so attached to the characters. Royce & Hadrian are as different as they come but they complement each other so well. I’m keen to read more of them in the Riyria Chronicles 🙂

Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass is my favorite of Maas’ two series, even though I find that a lot more people liked ACOTAR more. There was a lot of intense romance in this as well, but I loved the world building and characters more in this series than in the other. I always thought Celaena was a pretty sweet as assassin who really lived up to her kickass reputation!

Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson
This was my first introduction to Sanderson and it was the series that bumped him onto my auto buy and favorite author list. This is truly an epic but it is incredible adult fantasy–his world building, characters and magic in this series are just amazing!

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
The characters in SoC are thieves and badasses. They’re the rebels and misfit and together they undertake an insane and dangerous mission to infiltrate a fortress. The world building is amazing and the magic system is also really cool.

BONUS: Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) by Jay Kristoff
I’ve been hearing a whole lot about this adult fantasy series about a ‘fledgling killer’ who attends a school of assassins by Kristoff! I don’t know why I haven’t read it yet but I’m looking forward to starting it soon. I’m excited to read my first book written by Kristoff, since I’ve only read his collabos with Kaufman (but have seriously loved both series they’ve done together)!

What are your favorite books with assassins? Do you have favorite assassins? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!